Spring is in the air. On warm days, I mean that literally. Spring brings mother nature out in all her glory. Sadly before the blooms come out of the mucky melt we have to face the smell of half frozen dog poop.
I was walking my dog recently and found myself getting increasingly annoyed as I walked down the beautiful walking trails around my house. There was dog poop everywhere. I found myself in a very negative place. “Why don’t people pick this crap up?” “How can people be so inconsiderate?” “No wonder people think dog owners are awful and dogs are filthy.” The more times I would go for a walk the more angry I would become.
Anger is one of those feelings that is pretty complicated. It is always rooted in something deeper than the surface. It is what many call a secondary emotion. It cannot live on its own. It has a deep root system that supports its poisonous flowers. For me, my anger often comes with a sense of injustice and powerlessness, for others it is fear, hurt, pain, loneliness, or trauma.
Every year in our local paper there are Letters to the Editor that start to show up with others also complaining about the dog poop issue. I often read these letters and think that they are fruitless. The people that aren’t cleaning up after their dogs are likely not about to engage in a debate about it or may not even read the paper. Nevertheless at least they are doing something.
I had an “ah ha” moment on one of my walks. I am not powerless in my anger. I could do something about this. Instead of walking around seething, I took out one of my plastic bags and picked the poop up. I decided that I would pick up one pile of dog poop that wasn’t my dogs on each daily walk. That way I could change all the negativity I felt into something more productive. Even if it is a small change at least it would make a difference. I picked up over 20 piles of poop that walk and believe it or not I felt great.
I know many people would argue that they shouldn’t have to compensate for another person’s arrogance or that it isn’t their responsibility to clean up poop. I agree it isn’t. It shouldn’t have to be this way but I would rather be part of the solution than allow my anger to ruin my daily walk with my dog. It isn’t about being a “a tree hugger” or a “do-gooder”. It is about taking pride in my community, in being concerned about the health of my neighbors and, most importantly, about taking control of my life and my emotions. Will my effort make any difference? I don’t know if it will on the larger stage but I know it does to me. That is reason enough.
I often remind my clients that emotions are important. We should allow ourselves to embrace them intensely. Eventually they will change. Anger often turns to action. We can choose if it is positive action or a damaging or hurtful kind of action. Today I chose positive action. I will do so on every walk I take this spring. I chose not to be a victim but a positive force, even in this small way.
I hope that others will be inspired by my “Poop Project” to find a way to clean the crap out of their own lives too.
We are responsible for our own feelings. Why should one get angry about dog poo? At what point will society ever be perfect enough for everyone to no longer be annoyed by something? So, pick up the dog poo, if you feel you need to, and be done with it. Why write a blog about it?
I agree with you Brigit. We are responsible for our own feelings. That is exactly the point I was attempting to make. Thank you for your response.
lol…I don’t think this story is about dog poo. It’s about having the ability to change how we react/respond/perceive the things that irk us. It’s also about doing something about it rather than just complaining about the ‘injustice’. Like the title says…..It’s about Empowerment of our mind, emotions and actions.